James Burrill, Jr. (April 25, 1772 – December 25, 1820) was a Federalist-party United States senator representing the state of Rhode Island. He served in the senate from 1817 until 1820. He graduated from the College of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the former name of Brown University) at Providence in 1788.

The town of Burrillville, Rhode Island, is named for him.

External links[link]

Rhode Island portal

• James Burrill, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

v t e United States Senators from Rhode Island Class 1 Foster Potter Howland Malbone Champlin Hunter De Wolf Robbins Dixon I Sprague III Francis A. Greene James Simmons Arnold Sprague IV Burnside Aldrich Lippitt Gerry Hebert Gerry McGrath Leahy Pastore J. Chafee L. Chafee Whitehouse Class 2 Stanton Bradford R. Greene Ellery Fenner Mathewson Howell Burrill Knight Simmons Clarke Allen Anthony Sheffield Chace Dixon III Wetmore Colt Metcalf Green Pell Reed

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James Burrill Angell (January 7, 1829 – April 1, 1916) was an American educator, academic administrator, and diplomat. He is best known for being the longest-serving president of the University of Michigan (1871–1909). Under his leadership Michigan gained prominence as an elite public university. Today, he is often cited by Michigan administrators for providing the vision of Michigan as a university that should provide "an uncommon education for the common man."

Angell was a graduate of and professor of languages at Brown University, editor of The Providence Journal (1860–1866), president of the University of Vermont (1866–1871). He served as U.S. Minister to China (1880–1881) and to Turkey (1897–1898). Several of his descendents also became well-known educators and academics.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

James Angell was born January 7, 1829, in Scituate, Rhode Island, the eldest of eight children. The Angells had been a prominent family in and around Providence, Rhode Island since its original founding in 1636 by Roger Williams and his companion Thomas Angell.^[1] Though scant, there is evidence suggesting Thomas Angell's ancestors were relations of Henry I of England.^[2] Thomas Angell's grandson, also named Thomas, had settled the farm where James was born in 1710, and also founded the Angell Tavern, where the leaders of Scituate held its town meetings after its incorporation in 1730 (both George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette are also said to have stayed there).^[3]

He started his schooling in the local school, but Angell's parents placed him at the age of eight with a Quaker tutor who taught him arithmetic and surveying. At twelve, he left home to attend a seminary in Seekonk, Massachusetts in order to study Latin, but after one term went to study at the Smithville Seminary, where he stayed until the age of fourteen. Unsure what career path to take, he had worked on the family farm for two summers, and also unsuccessfully attempted to find clerk jobs with Providence businesses. When his father informed him that he had the financial means to send James to college, he decided to attend Brown University. A year too young to enroll, he went first to University Grammar School in Providence, where one of his instructors was Henry S. Frieze, who himself would later serve as acting president of the University of Michigan while Angell was abroad on diplomatic assignments.

In 1845, Angell began studying at Brown, which at the time had a total of only seven instructors on the faculty. He graduated in 1849, and eventually obtained part-time jobs as an Assistant Librarian at the university and tutoring a boy whose eyesight prevented him from reading. In 1850, he came down with a cold and sore throat, but he refused to give his throat any rest from the daily exertion of reading aloud to his pupil. The resultant damage to his throat would last the rest of his life and make extended speaking difficult.

While James was recuperating, the father of his friend Rowland Hazard (an ancestor of the same Rowland Hazard who was instrumental in the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous) suggested that James accompany his son on an upcoming winter tour of the South, designed to alleviate Rowland's own lung ailment. The trip, which began on October 5, 1850, took Angell and Hazard throughout much of the South, including the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Lasting about seven and a half months, Angell details in his autobiography how it acquainted him with the realities of slavery.

Upon his return, Angell had planned to attend Andover Theological Seminary and take up a career as a minister. A throat specialist, however, advised him to avoid any work that would require extended public speaking, and he instead found work in the office of the city engineer of Boston. His brief tenure there ended when his friend Rowland Hazard, still suffering from lung ailments, invited him on another trip, this time to Europe. The pair traveled first to France, arriving just three weeks after Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte had staged a coup d'état, then later to Italy and Austria. While in Vienna, he received a letter from Francis Wayland, the president of Brown University, offering him a choice of jobs as chairman of either the Civil Engineering or Modern Language Department, with a year and a half of continued study in Europe. He chose the latter, and went to Paris for several months to study French, then to Braunschweig, Germany to study German, finally returning home in the summer of 1853.

Professor and editor[link]

When Angell began his tenure as chairman of the Modern Languages Department at Brown University, President Wayland was in the midst of reorganizing the university away from its traditional roots. Additional study was prescribed in areas such as modern languages and engineering, Angell's own areas of interest, and students were given greater freedom to choose elective courses. Extension classes were being initiated, to bring instruction to the wider community, and Angell himself gave lectures on his experiences in Europe and on the topic of education itself. Among his own students, Angell singled out as especially memorable two future U.S. Secretaries of State, Richard Olney and John Hay.

On November 26, 1855, Angell married Sarah Swoope Caswell. She was the daughter of Alexis Caswell, who was then a professor at Brown and would become president of the university in 1868. They had a son, Alexis Caswell Angell, on April 26, 1857.^[4]

After President Wayland grew frustrated with a lack of funding for his reforms and resigned as president in 1855, affairs reverted somewhat to their earlier state and the study of modern languages was de-emphasized, leaving Angell less satisfied with his teaching duties than before. He took on work writing articles for The Providence Journal, and when the editor and part-owner, Henry B. Anthony, was elected to the United States Senate in 1858, Anthony proposed that Angell replace him as the full-time editor. Angell took him up on the offer, resigning his professorship in 1860 to become the full-time editor of the paper.

As the largest newspaper in Rhode Island, and the state's leading voice for the new Republican Party (then only six years old), the editorship of the Journal put Angell in a powerful public position for the first time. His first foray into electoral politics came early on, as 1860 was an election year. He lent the paper's backing to the gubernatorial candidacy of abolitionist Republican nominee Seth Padelford, which failed when a coalition of various interests instead led to the election of fellow Republican William Sprague. In the presidential contest, Angell felt that Rhode Island's interests would be best served by the nomination of staunch abolitionist William H. Seward as the Republican candidate. But when the somewhat more moderate (and virtual unknown in Rhode Island) Abraham Lincoln was unexpectedly nominated, he put the power of the Journal behind Lincoln's candidacy, requesting favorable letters from his old pupil John Hay, who was working in Lincoln's law offices at the time, in order to generate enthusiasm for Lincoln. In the end, Lincoln won Rhode Island by a margin of 61.4% to 38.6%.

Angell ran the Journal for the entire Civil War, and briefly considered buying it to run as a non-partisan newspaper (an idea which Senator Anthony rejected), but the workload took its toll on his health. He and Sarah had a daughter, Lois, in 1863.^[5] In August 1866, when the University of Vermont requested that he come serve as its new president, he accepted the offer and moved to Burlington.

President of the University of Vermont[link]

As he had at Brown, Angell arrived at the University of Vermont while it was in the midst of a major reorganization. The Morrill Act had been passed in 1862, marking the beginning of land-grant colleges in the United States. A State Agricultural College had been created in Vermont, and part of Angell's job was to oversee its integration with the existing university, effecting a change from a fully private university to a quasi-public one. Much of his effort at the university was related to fundraising, as the Civil War had depleted the school of both students and funds. He was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1868.^[6]

On May 8, 1869, James and Sarah had another son, James Rowland Angell, who later served as president of Yale University. That same year, the University of Michigan offered Angell its presidency following the resignation of Erastus Haven. He visited Ann Arbor with his wife, but felt that he owed it to his supporters in Vermont to stay on with the University of Vermont. The offer was repeated in 1871, his former teacher Henry S. Frieze having served as acting president in the meantime. This time, Angell felt that the University of Vermont had made enough progress that he could leave it in good conscience, and he accepted the offer. He made a trip to Ann Arbor to deliver his inaugural address at Commencement on June 28, 1871, then returned to Vermont to finish out the academic term before moving his family to Ann Arbor for good in September of that year.

President of the University of Michigan[link]

While President Haven was Angell's immediate predecessor, having spent six years in office as the second president of the university, the University of Michigan at the time of Angell's arrival was still largely a reflection of its first president, Henry Philip Tappan. Prior to a falling out with the Board of Regents that led to his dismissal and self-imposed exile to Europe in 1863, Tappan ad then Haven had been among the leading American proponents of the "German model" of university curriculum, which emphasized research and laboratory work in a wide variety of disciplines over the "English model" of recitation in a core classical curriculum that typified most Eastern universities of the time and each left the University with continued resistance to the modernization. Under Angell, Michigan became a full-fledged realization of the type of university that Francis Wayland had been attempting to create at Brown during Angell's years there, and was viewed as the model for future public universities to follow (most notably, the University of California). Angell took on teaching duties in International Law, which he carried out during his entire term.

Angell's expressions of Christian piety, while not unusual at the New England Protestant institutions where he had previously served, caused him trouble early on at Michigan. Controversy surrounded two comments he had made. One was during his inaugural speech, when he stated that "the Christian spirit, which pervades the law, the customs, and the life of the State shall shape and color the life of the University, that a lofty, earnest, but catholic and unsectarian Christian tone shall characterize the culture which is here imparted." He had also stated an express desire to hire faculty who would prepare students for "their work in promoting our Christian civilization." A complaint was lodged in 1873 by Detroit resident Stephen B. McCracken, alleging that such Christian (and specifically Protestant) favoritism violated the state constitution. A Michigan State Senate committee was appointed to investigate, and interviewed Angell and others at the university. The committee ultimately cleared Angell and the university, concluding that "the teachings of the university are those of a liberal and enlightened Christianity, in the general, highest and best use of the term." In spite of such complaints, Angell took action early to make the university less sectarian, first by dropping compulsory chapel attendance, then by hiring its first Roman Catholic faculty member, Eugene W. Hilgard.^[7]

Angell served as president of the American Historical Association from 1892 to 1893.

During his tenure at Michigan, the faculty size grew from 35 to about 400; the student body from 1100 to over 5000; the annual budget from $104,000 to over $1,000,000. The following schools or colleges were founded during his tenure: Dentistry, Pharmacy, Music, Nursing, and Architecture & Urban Planning.

In 1902, Angell inspired the formation of an elite senior leadership society at Michigan. Known for most of its history as Michigamua, the organization renamed itself after Angell in 2007. The organization is now named "Order of Angell" and its mission is "to advance exceptional leadership through a lifelong loyalty to and engagement with the University of Michigan."

Diplomatic posts[link]

Angell's academic career was put on hold at several points so he could carry out a variety of diplomatic assignments.

In February 1880, Secretary of State William M. Evarts asked Angell to go to China as part of a two-member commission (to which Angell proposed the addition of a third member) with the goal of negotiating changes to the Burlingame Treaty that would reduce what was viewed as a flood of Chinese immigrants into the Pacific United States. Angell was nominated by President Hayes, confirmed by the Senate as Minister to China and chairman of the treaty commission on April 9, 1880, and left for Peking that June with fellow commissioners John F. Swift and William Henry Trescot. Henry S. Frieze was appointed acting president of the University of Michigan in his absence. The commission negotiated two treaties, the first of which allowed the U.S. to regulate and limit the immigration of Chinese laborers, but not to prohibit it outright.^[8] The second was a trade treaty that outlawed the trade of opium and set tonnage dues and tariffs to be the same for both nations.^[9] The treaties were signed on November 17, 1880, and the other commissioners returned home, leaving Angell in China to fulfill his duties as Minister. After a year, he decided to return to academia and left China on October 4, 1881, taking a trip through Europe and returning to Ann Arbor on February 24, 1882. Most of the protections for Chinese immigrants that the treaty had secured were reversed by Congress in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

In the fall of 1887, President Cleveland appointed Angell to the International Commission of Canadian Fisheries, along with William L. Putnam and Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard, to negotiate with the British government regarding fishing rights off the coast of Canada, which had been a source of misunderstanding between Canada and the U.S. since they were first agreed to in the Treaty of 1818. A new treaty was signed on February 15, 1888, but subsequently failed ratification in the U.S. Senate, whose Republican majority had objected to the formation of the commission in the first place.

On November 4, 1895, President Cleveland appointed Angell to the Deep Waterways Commission, along with John E. Russell and Lyman E. Cooley. The commission, created by Congress, was to negotiate an agreement between the U.S. and Canada regarding the creation of a waterway to allow ocean-going traffic between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. They undertook a feasibility study^[10] and forwarded proposals for further appropriations to Congress, but little was done, and it was not until 1959 that the St. Lawrence Seaway finally opened.

President McKinley appointed Angell Minister to Turkey in 1897, and Henry S. Frieze was again appointed acting president of the university. He served in the post until August 5, 1898.

Later years[link]

Angell grave

Angell's wife, Sarah Caswell Angell, died on December 17, 1903.^[11] In 1905, Angell submitted his resignation to the Board of Regents, feeling that at his age, he may be losing the qualifications for his position, but the board refused to accept it. By 1909, he had been in office for 38 years, all of his predecessors had died, and Angell was the only man alive who had been president of the University of Michigan.^[12] He again submitted his resignation to the Regents, who this time accepted it, while at the same time designating him President Emeritus.

Angell died April 1, 1916, in Ann Arbor, and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery.

Notable descendents and relatives[link]

A number of James Angell's descendents and near relatives rose to prominence in their respective fields, largely also in academia:

• Son James Rowland Angell, a psychologist at the University of Chicago and president of Yale University
• Son Alexis Caswell Angell, Michigan Law School professor and U.S. District Judge^[4]
  • Grandson Robert Cooley Angell, chair of the sociology department at the University of Michigan and president of the American Sociological Association^[13]
• Nephew Frank Angell, psychologist at Cornell University and Stanford University
• Son-in-law Andrew McLaughlin (married daughter Lois Angell), Pulitzer Prize-winning historian
  • Granddaughter Constance Green, also a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian^[14]
  • Grandson James Angell MacLachlan, Harvard Law School professor and co-founder of the National Bankruptcy Conference^[15]

Commemoration[link]

• Angell Hall, one of the most prominent buildings on the University of Michigan campus, is named after him. Designed by Albert Kahn,^[16] it was completed in 1924 at a cost of $1 million, providing 152,000 square feet (14,100 m²) of classroom and office space.^[17]
• In 1910 sculptor Karl Bitter produced a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) bas relief depicting a seated Angell. It now resides in the lobby of Angell Hall.^[18]
• A caricature of Angell by Ulysses Ricci's firm Ricci and Zari can be found carved on a corbel at the University of Michigan's Law Quadrangle.^[19]
• Angell School, a kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, is named after him.
• The former University of Michigan honor society Michigamua renamed itself the Order of Angell in 2007. Angell inspired the organization's creation through his vision of uniting student leaders in the hopes of creating meaningful dialogue surrounding campus issues.
• A street named after the Angell family runs by Brown University.
• Sarah Caswell Angell Hall was a theater in Barbour Gymnasium (a women's gymnasium on the Michigan campus), named in honor of Angell's wife in 1905. The gymnasium was torn down in 1946.

Citations[link]

References[link]

• Angell, Bill (1999), The Ancestors of Thomas Angell of Providence, Rhode Island, Rhode Island USGenWeb Project, http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/angell.html, retrieved 2007-08-07 
• Angell, James B. (1912), The Reminiscences of James Burrill Angell, New York: Longmans, Green, http://books.google.com/?id=-rAWAAAAIAAJ, retrieved 2007-08-14 
• Anonymous (1878), "The History of Scituate", History of the State of Rhode Island with Illustrations, Philadelphia: Hoag, Wade, pp. 299–305, http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/article242.html, retrieved 2007-08-07 
• Anonymous (February 19, 1909), "Dr. Angell is only man living who has been president of Michigan", Ann Arbor Daily News: 8, http://www.hvcn.org/info/gswc/data/news1900.htm#090219A, retrieved 2007-08-07 
• Arthur, Chester A. (1881a), Proclamation of October 5, 1881, http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Proclamation_of_October_5%2C_1881, retrieved 2007-08-14 
• Arthur, Chester A. (1881b), Proclamation of October 5, 1881 (Supplemental), http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Proclamation_of_October_5%2C_1881_%28Supplemental%29, retrieved 2007-08-14 
• Ascasibar, Javier; Colthorp, Constance; Ehrlich, Rosalie; Michelson, Alan; Pandos, Kimberly, Angell Hall Stylistic Features and Social Significance, http://www.si.umich.edu/umarch/bldgs/angell/index1.html, retrieved 2007-08-07 
• Bentley Historical Library (2005), "Women's Diaries", Michigan Historical Collections Subject Guides, University of Michigan, http://bentley.umich.edu/bhl/mhchome/women/diarym.htm#mclaughlin, retrieved 2007-08-22 
• Harvard Law School Library (1979), MacLachlan, James Angell, 1891-. Papers, 1925-1960: Finding Aid, http://oasis.harvard.edu:10080/oasis/deliver/~law00037, retrieved 2007-08-22 
• Hinsdale, Burke A. (1906), Demmon, Isaac, ed., History of the University of Michigan, University of Michigan, http://books.google.com/?id=z6sWAAAAIAAJ, retrieved 2007-08-16 

• Markoff, Florence (2003), Roger Williams, http://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=62, retrieved 2007-08-07 
• Marsden, George M. (1994), The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-507046-1, http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0195106504/, retrieved 2007-08-14 
• Scanlon, Jennifer; Cosner, Shaaron (1996), American Women Historians, 1700S-1990s: A Biographical Dictionary, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-29664-2, http://books.google.com/?id=XJSdT_4NWTMC, retrieved 2007-08-22 

Further reading[link]

• Angell, James B.; Russell, John E.; Cooley, Lyman E. (1897), Report of the United States Deep Waterways Commission, at Detroit, Michigan, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office 
• Shaw, Wilfred (1920), "President Angell and President Hutchins", The University of Michigan, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, pp. 64–90, http://books.google.com/?id=WH4IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA64 
• Students' Christian Association (1893), Religious Thought at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI: Register Publishing, http://books.google.com/?id=oDou3QeczI8C 
• Wilbee, Victor R. (1967), The Religious Dimensons of Three Presidencies in a State University: Presidents Tappan, Haven, and Angell at the University of Michigan, PhD Thesis, University of Michigan 

External links[link]

	United States portal
	North America portal
	Rhode Island portal
	Biography portal

Wikisource has original works written by or about: James Burrill Angell

• Autobiography of James Burrill Angell as youth
• University of Michigan biography
• Brown University biography

v t e United States Ambassadors to China Envoys to the Qing Empire 1843-1858 Caleb Cushing 1843-44 · Alexander Hill Everett 1845-47 · John Wesley Davis 1848-50 · Humphrey Marshall 1852-54 · Robert Milligan McLane 1853-54 · Peter Parker 1855-57 · William B. Reed 1857-58 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plentipotentiary to the Qing Empire 1858-1913 John Elliott Ward 1858-60 · Anson Burlingame 1861-67 · John Ross Browne 1868-69 · Frederick F. Low 1869-73 · Benjamin Avery 1874-75 · George Seward 1876-80 · James Burrill Angell 1880-81 · John Russell Young 1882-85 · Charles Harvey Denby 1885-98 · Edwin H. Conger 1898-05 · William Woodville Rockhill 1905-09 · William James Calhoun 1909-13 Envoy to the Republic of China 1913-1929 Paul Samuel Reinsch 1913-19 · Charles Richard Crane 1920-21 · Jacob Gould Schurman 1921-25 · John MacMurray 1925-29 Ambassador to the Republic of China 1929-1949 Nelson T. Johnson 1929-41 · Clarence E. Gauss 1941-44 · Patrick J. Hurley 1944-45 · John Leighton Stuart 1946-49 · Embassy in Taipei 1949-Pres. Chiefs of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing 1973-79 David K. E. Bruce 1973-74 · George H. W. Bush 1974-75 · Thomas S. Gates, Jr. 1976-77 · Leonard Woodcock 1977-79 Ambassador to the People's Republic of China 1979-Present Leonard Woodcock 1979-81 · Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. 1981-85 · Winston Lord 1985-89 · James R. Lilley 1989-91 · J. Stapleton Roy 1991-95 · Jim Sasser 1996-99 · Joseph Prueher 1999-01 · Clark T. Randt, Jr. 2001-09 · Jon Huntsman, Jr. 2009-11 · Gary Locke 2011-

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

Coordinates: 54°16′47″N 1°37′58″W / 54.279800°N 1.632700°W / 54.279800; -1.632700

Burrill
Cowling Hall, near Burrill
Burrill  Burrill shown within North Yorkshire
OS grid reference	SE240872
Civil parish	Burrill with Cowling
District	Hambleton
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	DL8
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Burrill is a small village in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the parish of Burrill with Cowling and 1 mile west of Bedale.

This Hambleton, North Yorkshire location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

James Blake

Country	United States
Residence	Saddlebrook Florida , Tampa, Florida, United States
Born	(1979-12-28) December 28, 1979 (age 32) Yonkers, New York
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	183 lb (83 kg; 13.1 st)
Turned pro	1999
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$7,350,311
Singles
Career record	349–231 (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	10
Highest ranking	No. 4 (November 20, 2006)
Current ranking	No. 92 (April 30, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (2008)
French Open	3R (2006)
Wimbledon	3R (2006, 2007)
US Open	QF (2005, 2006)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	F (2006)
Olympic Games	SF - 4th place (losing bronze-finalist) (2008)
Doubles
Career record	109–104 (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	6
Highest ranking	No. 31 (March 31, 2003)
Current ranking	No. 214 (November 22, 2010)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2005)
French Open	2R (2002)
Wimbledon	SF (2009)
US Open	2R (2000, 2001)
Last updated on: April 13, 2012.

James Riley Blake^[1] (born December 28, 1979) is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of April 2012, Blake is ranked World No. 74 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances (10–14 record), whilst his career-high singles ranking is World No. 4. His career highlights include reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (2008) and US Open (2005, 2006). His two titles for the United States at the Hopman Cup are an event record. Blake was a key performer for the United States 2007 Davis Cup championship team, going 2–0 in the championship tie vs. Russia at second singles. In 2005, Blake was presented with the Comeback Player of the Year award for his remarkable return to the tour. Later, in 2008, Blake was awarded another honor by the ATP where he was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year. On July 3, 2007, Blake's autobiography Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, which discussed his comeback after his unlucky 2004 season, was released and debuted at No. 22 on the New York Times Best Seller list. He co-wrote this book with Andrew Friedman.

Early life[link]

Blake was born in Yonkers, New York to an African American father Thomas Reynolds Blake and a British mother Betty.^[2] He has a brother Thomas, who is also a professional tennis player, and three older half-brothers: Jason, Christopher and Howard, and a half-sister Michelle.

Blake started playing tennis at age five alongside his brother Thomas. When he was 13, he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and for five years as a teenager he was forced to wear a full-length back brace for 18 hours a day, though not while playing tennis. Blake attended Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Connecticut, where a schoolmate and childhood friend was future musician John Mayer. Blake was inspired to pursue tennis after hearing his role model Arthur Ashe speak to the Harlem Junior Tennis Program. Brian Barker was his first (and longtime) coach. He left Harvard University, where he was a member of the A.D. Club, after his sophomore year to pursue a career in professional tennis.

Playing style[link]

Blake's style of play is primarily that of an aggressive offensive baseliner. He generally prefers to hit winners from the baseline, but his solid net volley and transition game give him an effective all-court game. His forehand (along with Federer and Fernando González) is considered to be one of the best in the game. However, his one-handed backhand is known to be suspect. Another major strength is his great foot speed. Blake tends to return serves (especially second serves) with great pace, and also makes contact with the ball earlier (on the uprise) when hitting ground strokes. Combined with his relatively flat strokes, these techniques (despite being riskier in terms of making errors) allow him to put more pace on the ball, giving opponents less time to react. Blake likes to take control of points and will usually attempt to hit an outright winner earlier in the rally than many others. He is known as a shot maker. His go-for-broke style makes him one of the most entertaining players on the tour, though this also makes him an inconsistent player, evidenced by his recent slide in the rankings. Since hiring new coach and doubles specialist Kelly Jones, Blake has begun to incorporate more serve-and-volley play into his game.

Career[link]

2000–2001[link]

At the age of 21, Blake saw his first Davis Cup action in 2001 against India and became the third person of African-American heritage to play for the Davis Cup for the United States (after Arthur Ashe and MaliVai Washington).

Ranked no. 120 in the world, Blake accepted a wild card into Cincinnati. He beat a qualifier and Arnaud Clément to reach the round of 16, where he met Patrick Rafter. Blake came close to winning the first set (falling in a tiebreak), and after dropping the second set, Rafter, according to Blake's autobiography, complimented him at the net and boosted his confidence immeasurably by saying "Now do you believe you can beat someone like me, or even me?"

2002–2003[link]

In January, Blake won the 2002 USTA Waikola Challenger in Hawaii. A month later in Memphis he posted his first win over a top-10 ranked opponent, Tommy Haas, who was then ranked no. 5, and reached the finals, losing to Andy Roddick. He reached the quarterfinals at the ATP Masters Series (AMS) event in Rome in May and the finals at Newport in July.

In August, in Cincinnati, he won his first career ATP Tour title and his first ATP Masters Series title: it came in doubles with Todd Martin, making Blake the first African-American male to win a title of any kind in Cincinnati's 101-year history. He was also the first African-American to reach a final in Cincinnati since 1969, when Arthur Ashe reached the doubles finals with Charlie Pasarell. The next week in Washington, he won his first ATP Tour singles title, beating Andre Agassi in the semifinals and Paradorn Srichaphan in the final.

At the US Open, he reached the third round, before falling to top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt in five sets.

In 2003, his best results were a quarterfinals appearance at Indian Wells; a round of 16 finish at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, and Miami; a semifinal appearance at San Jose, and a finals appearance at Long Island.

2004[link]

While practicing with Robby Ginepri for the Masters event in Rome, he broke his neck when he slipped on the clay and collided with the net post. In July, his father died of stomach cancer. At the same time, Blake developed shingles, which temporarily paralyzed half his face and blurred his sight.

2005[link]

Blake's injuries and personal issues caused him to post relatively poor results for the first half of 2005. By April his ranking was 210. He decided to play the Challenger circuit, the "minor leagues" of tennis, in order to gain confidence and get more matches. In May he entered events in Tunica, Mississippi and Forest Hills, New York, winning both. He rejoined the ATP circuit and by August reached the final at the International Series event in Washington, D.C. where he fell to Roddick.

He was given a wild card into AMS Cincinnati, drawing Federer in the first round. He then won the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, defeating Feliciano López in the final.

After New Haven he was ranked 49.

He then accepted a wildcard into the US Open, defeating No. 2 Rafael Nadal 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 in the round of 32. He beat Tommy Robredo in four sets to reach the quarterfinals, succumbing to Andre Agassi in a fifth-set tiebreak, losing 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6.

In October at the Stockholm Open, Blake won his third ATP tour title, defeating Srichaphan in the final. Blake finished 2005 ranking 22.

2006[link]

Blake won the title at Sydney, taking his fourth ATP tour title defeating Russian Igor Andreev in the final.

At the Australian Open he was seeded twentieth, losing in the third round to Spaniard Tommy Robredo. He broke into the Top 20 for the first time in his career.

In March he beat Hewitt in the final at Las Vegas for his fifth ATP tour title.

At the first AMS event of the year Indian Wells, Blake defeated Robredo in the third round and world No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals, reaching his first career ATP Masters Series singles final, losing in the final to Federer. By reaching the final, Blake became the first African-American man since Arthur Ashe to reach the world's top 10.

On clay, Blake defeated former world No. 1 Carlos Moyà in the first round at AMS Hamburg before losing to Mario Ančić in the third round.

At the French Open he defeated Spaniard Nicolás Almagro in four sets in the second round, to become the last remaining American man at the French, then was beaten by Frenchman Gaël Monfils in five sets.

Beginning the grass court season at the Stella Artois Championships, he defeated Andy Roddick in the semifinals, losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the final.

At Wimbledon, Blake progressed to the third round but lost to Max Mirnyi in five sets.^[3]

Now ranked No. 5, Blake's next tournament was the International Series at Indianapolis. He won the singles title, defeating Roddick (for the second time in 2006).

In Washington, D.C. he lost in the third round to Marat Safin and in New Haven in the first round to Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo.

At AMS Canada he fell to Richard Gasquet (who would reach the final that week before losing to Roger Federer). At AMS Cincinnati he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero (who lost in the final to Andy Roddick).

At the US Open he reached the quarterfinals, losing to top seed and defending champion Roger Federer. In that match Blake won his first set against Federer, winning the third set in a tiebreaker 11–9.

In his debut appearance at the Thailand Open in Bangkok, Blake won his seventh singles title, defeating Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals, Marat Safin in the semifinals, and Ivan Ljubičić (for the first time) in the final.

Two weeks later Blake won his fifth title of 2006, defending his 2005 title in Stockholm, defeating Jarkko Nieminen.

For the first time, Blake qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. He went 2–1 in the Gold Group, defeating No. 2 Nadal and No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko, while losing to No. 6 Tommy Robredo. He qualified for the semifinals, beating defending champion David Nalbandian 6–4, 6–1, losing the final to Federer 6–0, 6–3, 6–4.

Blake finished 2006 at a career-high World Number 4 and as the highest-ranked American tennis player.

2007[link]

Blake won at the Sydney International for the second consecutive year. However, he then suffered a disappointing loss in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, losing to tenth seed and eventual finalist Fernando González 7–5, 6–4, 7–6. He followed that up with a loss to Tomáš Berdych in Davis Cup play and a second round loss in the SAP Open (San Jose) to Number 103 ranked Ivo Karlović.

At the 2007 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, as the defending champion, he was involved with a deep controversy. It was one of the several tournaments experimenting with the new round robin format,^[4] and Blake had lost his first match to Evgeny Korolev. Korolev lost his other match to Juan Martín del Potro. In order for Blake to advance to the quarters, he had to defeat Del Potro in straight sets while losing five games or less. This would result in a three-way tie, with Blake losing the fewest games. With Blake leading 6–1 3–1, Del Potro retired. This eliminated Del Potro from the three-way tie as he failed to complete one of his matches. Korolev then moved on to the next round, breaking the tie because he had defeated Blake in their match.

That caused a big uproar among fans, James Blake, and commentators, as they felt James Blake deserved to advance. After a press conference of many hours, the ATP, led by Etienne de Villiers, decided that, since Blake would have met the guidelines the way the match was going, and since neither player knew the consequences of retiring (Del Potro said he would have finished the match had he known), Blake would have advanced anyway. They overruled the tournament guidelines, giving Blake a place in the quarterfinals.

The following morning, De Villiers reversed his reversal deeming that it was unfair to Korolev as you should not change the rules in mid-tournament, regardless of what happened. As a result, Korolev re-advanced to the quarterfinals, sending Blake to Indian Wells without a 3rd consecutive title defense. Shortly after this incident, the ATP decided to cancel the round robin format, reverting any tournaments planning a round robin draw to the standard single-elimination draw.^[5]

Roland Garros 2007 was a disappointment for Blake, losing in the first round to Ivo Karlović 4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5. Blake was one of nine American men to lose in the first round of Roland Garros. This was the first time in the open era where an American male had not made it into a Grand Slam second round.

In Wimbledon 2007, James reached the third round, matching his best showing there (2006), but was unable to get past former World Number 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, losing 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6.

During the summer hardcourt season, he advanced to his second career ATP Masters Series event and won a singles title. At AMS Cincinnati, he beat Alejandro Falla, Nicolas Kiefer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sam Querrey and Nikolay Davydenko en route to the final before falling to Roger Federer. He won the singles title at Penn Pilot in New Haven, CT, and started the North American hardcourt season by reaching the finals at Los Angeles, losing to Radek Štěpánek in three sets 7–6, 5–7, 6–2 after having three set points in the first set.

In the second round of the 2007 US Open, he won his first career five-set match against Fabrice Santoro, whom he defeated 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4. Blake made it to the fourth round, where he lost to No. 10 Tommy Haas in five sets 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0, 7–6, despite having match points in the fifth set.

Blake and the rest of the US Davis Cup team defeated Sweden in September to reach the finals against Russia.

James also participated in Madrid and Basel. In Madrid, he fell to former top ten star Mario Ančić in the second round. In Basel, he fell in the second round to Ivo Karlović. However, Blake teamed with former number one doubles player Mark Knowles of the Bahamas to make the final. In the first round, he and Knowles upset US Open champions Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle in three sets. In the semifinals, the team bore match points twelve times, and finally defeated Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett, the second seeds 7–5, 6–7, [12–10] with thirteen needed match points.^[6] Their luck, however, was halted by top seeds and top ranked Bob and Mike Bryan, who are Blake's Davis Cup teammates. Blake and Knowles lost 6–1 6–1. After the match, James quoted: "'Yes, they played as well I have seen them play in a while. It's tough. I have seen them do it to a lot of guys in Davis Cup from the sidelines and know how little fun it is to face them. That's the reason why they are the best doubles team in the world right now. [At the start of the week] I told Mark I had not won a lot of doubles matches this year, so I was glad to have him get me through a couple of wins. I had a great time and a lot of fun. Getting a chance to play with one of the best doubles players, really ever, was exciting for me. I learnt plenty and hopefully we’ll be better next time.'"^[7]

Blake lost in the third round of Paris to Richard Gasquet and thus finished outside the top eight players, losing his chance to defend the points he gained as finalist in the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup.

James Blake won his match in the 2007 Davis Cup finals against Mikhail Youzhny 6–3, 7–6, 6–7, 7–6 (and also against Dmitry Tursunov). Andy Roddick won his match versus Tursunov and Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles rubber over Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko, sealing the Davis Cup win for the United States.^[8][9]

2008[link]

James Blake began 2008 hoping to win his third consecutive Medibank International title. However, the defending champion bowed out of the tournament in the first round, losing to French veteran Fabrice Santoro 6–7, 2–6. The third seed (Blake) was said to be "uncharacteristic" in reference to his frustration.

At the Australian Open, Blake defeated his first round opponent, Chilean Nicolás Massú. He then defeated compatriot Michael Russell 6–3, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he fought back from two sets down to beat French veteran Sébastien Grosjean 4–6, 2–6, 6–0, 7–6, 6–2 who had beaten him in each of their three previous meetings.

In the fourth round, Blake beat Marin Čilić in three sets to advance to the quarterfinals, his best showing yet down under. In the quarterfinal, James Blake faced world No. 1 Roger Federer, and fell in straight sets 7–5, 7–6, 6–4. Although out of the Australian Open, Blake's ranking jumped back into the Top 10 to No. 9 following his best performance in the tournament yet.

In Davis Cup, the USA played Austria on clay. James defeated Stefan Koubek in four sets 5–7, 7–5, 6–2, 6–2. Despite being down 2–5 in the second set, James turned things around, helped in part by unforced errors by Koubek.

In Delray Beach, James made it to the final for the second consecutive year, but fell to No. 244 Kei Nishikori of Japan in three sets in the final 6–3, 1–6, 4–6. At the 2008 SAP Open, he rebounded from that loss by defeating compatriot Sam Warburg in straight sets in the first round 6–3, 6–1 and Jesse Levine in straight sets in the second round 6–3, 6–4. However, he lost to Robby Ginepri 2–6, 2–6 on the following round.

At the 2008 Pacific Life Open, Blake, the ninth seed, received a "bye" in the first round, before defeating Marc Gicquel 6–3, 6–7, 6–1 in the second round. In the third round, Blake beat former World Number 1 Carlos Moyà 6–3, 6–4.^[10][11] He then defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the fourth round in straight sets 6–4, 6–2, before losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals 5–7, 6–3, 3–6.

At the 2008 Miami Masters, Blake reached the quarter-finals, but again lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets 6–3, 3–6, 1–6.

In Davis Cup, Team USA played France. Unfortunately for France, they were missing two of their best players, Richard Gasquet and Jo Wilfried Tsonga due to injuries. So Michaël Llodra and Paul-Henri Mathieu were the players playing singles for France. After Andy Roddick defeated Llodra, James would play Mathieu. James won in a three-hour, 48-minute, five-set match against the Frenchman 7–6, 6–7, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5. He had to save two match points to defeat the number 12 Mathieu.

Blake then started the clay court season at the River Oaks International tournament in Houston, Texas. He defeated Kei Nishikori in the first round 6–4, 6–4, 15-year-old Ryan Harrison in the second round, No. 5 seed Agustín Calleri of Argentina in the quarterfinals, and Óscar Hernández of Spain in the semifinals 6–3, 7–6. In his second ATP final of the year and his first career clay-court final, Blake fell to Spaniard Marcel Granollers Pujol 4–6, 6–1, 5–7.

James received a wild card to play in the clay tournament in Barcelona, Spain. However, he lost in the first round to German Denis Gremelmayr in straight sets.

Looking for a better performance on clay, James played in the Master Series tournament in Rome. He received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he faced Italian hopeful Andreas Seppi. James won in three sets 7–6, 3–6, 6–1. In the third round, he faced Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. He won in three sets 5–7, 7–5, 6–2. His run was ended in the quarterfinals by Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in three sets 7–6, 6–7, 1–6.

At the French, he made it to the second round before being defeated by Ernests Gulbis in four sets. He fared no better at Wimbledon, losing in the 2nd round to the resurgent semi-finalist Rainer Schüttler in five sets, 3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6.

At the Cincinnati Masters, Blake lost to Ernests Gulbis 4–6, 6–1, 3–6 in the third round.

In August 2008, Blake represented the United States as one of its three men's singles tennis players in the Beijing Olympics. In the quarterfinals, he gained one of the biggest wins of his career with his first ever win over Roger Federer 6–4, 7–6. At the time, Federer was ranked as the world's No. 1 men's player.^[12] His semifinal match was against Fernando González, the Men's Singles bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Blake had triple match point in the middle of the final set, but would go on to lose 4–6, 7–5, 11–9. He then lost in the bronze medal match to Serbian Novak Djokovic 4–6, 6–7.

In the US Open, Blake was stretched to a 5 set thriller against American teenager Donald Young 6–1, 3–6, 6–1, 4–6, 6–4 in the first round. Blake easily won his second round match after Steve Darcis retired 4–6, 6–3, 1–0. Blake then lost to friend and fellow American Mardy Fish in the third round in straight sets 3–6, 3–6, 6–7.

In the Madrid Masters, Blake had a first round bye and played Gilles Simon losing it 6–3, 1–6, 4–6. Soon after, he played in the Davidoff Swiss Indoors tournament and made it all the way to the quarterfinals before losing to Feliciano López of Spain 4–6, 6–7. In the Paris Masters Blake got to the semis after a walkover by Roger Federer in the quarters and lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 4–6, 3–6. Because of this loss, Blake was not able to qualify for the year end Masters in Shanghai.

2009[link]

Blake participated in the Hopman Cup, an exhibition tournmanent partnering Meghann Shaughnessy. The team were the top seed, with Blake looking to win his third Hopman Cup. Blake lost to Slovak Dominik Hrbatý but defeated Nicolas Kiefer and Lleyton Hewitt.

Blake defeated Frank Dancevic 6–4, 6–3, 7–5 in the first round of the Australian Open. His success continued in the second round of the Australian Open after deposing of Frenchman Sébastien de Chaunac 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 in a match laden with spectator noise and bad line calls.^[13] Blake went on to face the 18th seed, Igor Andreev, in the third round and beat him 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1. He lost in the fourth round in straight sets to the 2008 runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6.

In the SAP Open in San Jose, Blake defeated fellow American Vincent Spadea 6–3, 6–4 in a first round match, hitting 12 aces and converted his two break point chances to race to the win in 50 minutes. Blake would go on to defeat Frenchman Florent Serra 6–4, 6–3. Blake prevailed in a 20-point first set tie-break against sixth-seeded compatriot Sam Querrey and then eased through the second set with one break of serve to post the 7–6, 6–3 victory in 67 minutes. He then lost to fellow American Mardy Fish 3–6, 2–6.

In his next tournament, the Regions Morgan Keenan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee, Blake was defeated in the first round by Lleyton Hewitt 6–3, 1–6, 4–6.

In the Davis Cup first round tie against Switzerland in Birmingham, Alabama, he lost the opening match to Stanislas Wawrinka in four sets. But he won the fifth match in straight sets to make the final tie 4–1 to book the U.S's place in the quarterfinals.

Blake started the clay season as top seed at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships and lost to Guillermo Cañas 6–4 6–4 in the first round. He also then lost in Rome Masters in the first round to Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi 7–5, 6–3.

Blake at the 2009 French Open.

Blake then played at the 2009 Estoril Open. Blake recorded his first clay-court win of the 2009 ATP World Tour season, earning a confidence-boosting 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 win over Portugal's highest-ever ranked player Frederico Gil. Blake, who improved to 10–8 on the year, next defeated France's Marc Gicquel in the second round 7–6, 6–2 and Florent Serra 6–4, 6–1 in the third. Blake advanced to his first clay-court final on European soil on Sunday, after beating second seed and former Estoril Open champion Nikolay Davydenko 6–7, 7–6, 6–3 in a rain-interrupted semi-final that was carried over due to bad light. Blake won the first and fifth points against serve, courtesy of a Davydenko backhand error and then a forehand volley winner on approach to the net. He quickly opened up a 6–2 lead and won the second set when Davydenko hit a backhand wide. Davydenko managed to save one break point at 15–40 in the fourth game of the third set, with a couple of clever forehands that left Blake stretching outside the tramlines, but the 2003 titlist and 2006 and 2008 runner-up was unable to win the second break point as Blake secured a 3–1 lead. Davydenko almost broke back in the next game, but Blake produced his A-game hitting a cross-court forehand winner on approach to the net that left Davydenko flailing. At 1–4, the World No. 11 found himself 0–40 down but won five straight points – closing out with successive forehand winners. Blake made it 5–2 with successive aces and, minutes later, booked a spot in his 23rd ATP World Tour final (10–12 record) with a service hold to 30. Blake extended his winning streak to 7–0 over Davydenko, in the pair's first clay-court meeting that last two hours and 26 minutes. Blake was defeated by Spain's Albert Montañés later that day in the finals. The 28-year-old Montanes saved two match points at 4–5 in the second set and fought back to beat fourth-seeded Blake 5–7, 7–6, 6–0 in two hours and 14 minutes. Blake fought off one break point for a 5–4 lead, before setting up two championship points on the Montanes serve at 15–40. Blake squandered the first point with a backhand return long of the baseline and the second point went begging when he committed a backhand error. Blake dropped to 12–9 on the 2009 ATP World Tour season. Blake was attempting to become the first American to win a clay-court title since Mardy Fish at Houston in April 2006 and the first American to win on European clay since his Davis Cup team mate Andy Roddick lifted the St. Poelten trophy in May 2003.

At the 2009 French Open, Blake lost in the first round to qualifier Leonardo Mayer 7–6 7–5 6–2.

At the AEGON Championships at Queen's club, Blake defeated Ivan Ljubičić 6–2, 7–6 Sam Querrey 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 and Mikhail Youzhny 7–6, 6–3 to reach the semi-finals. He then reached the final after Andy Roddick retired with an ankle injury in the first set when the score was tied at 4 games all. He then went on to lose in the final to Andy Murray 7–5, 6–4.

At the Wimbledon Championships, Blake, seeded 17th, lost in the first round to Andreas Seppi in straight sets 7–5 6–4 7–6. He was the first seeded player to be knocked out of the tournament.^[14] In his post-match press conference, Blake stated that he was battling a stomach virus, having to take painkillers before going on court. He also heavily criticized the ATP Tour, blaming their poor scheduling for his loss of focus, as well as the withdrawal of world number 1 Rafael Nadal.^[15]

Blake partnered with compatriot Mardy Fish at the Wimbledon Men's Doubles. In the first round they defeated third seeds Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes and then Marc Gicquel and Arnaud Clément in straight sets. They defeated advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley. They lost to defending champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the semi-finals although they won the first two sets.

Following a 3rd Round loss at the 2009 US Open to Spain's Tommy Robredo, Blake split with longtime coach Brian Barker. He is now coached by Kelly Jones.

2010[link]

Blake started his 2010 campaign at the Brisbane International in Australia. Blake came back from a set down to top fifth seeded American Sam Querrey 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. He then defeated Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, surviving three match points in the deciding set tiebreak to make the quarter-finals. There Blake lost to Gaël Monfils 6–3, 3–6, 4–6. Blake was also entered in the men's double draw with Andy Roddick. The duo defeated fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares on the way to the semifinals before losing a heartbreaker to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel 4–6, 6–3, 11–13.

At the 2010 Australian Open Blake defeated French veteran Arnaud Clément 7–5, 7–5, 6–2 in the first round. He then faced fourth seed and US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro in the second round, losing a classic in five grueling sets 4–6, 7–6, 7–5, 3–6, 8–10.

Blake then lost in the opening round at the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament against a former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 4–6, 2–6.

In the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Blake fell to top-seeded American counterpart Andy Roddick 3–6, 6–4, 6–7.

At the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, No. 7 seed Blake won consecutive matches for the second time in 2010, topping fellow American Taylor Dent 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 and the Dutchman Robin Haase 6–3, 6–1. Blake was eliminated in the quarterfinals by 2nd seed Ivo Karlović 3–6, 7–6, 1–6.

Blake returned to action for the third consecutive tournament on American soil at the first Masters event of the year, 2010 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California. An unseeded Blake advanced to the round of 64 with a quick win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6–3, 6–2. He then advanced to the Round of 32 with his most impressive win of the season to that point, a 6–1, 6–4 destruction of 13th seed David Ferrer. In the Round of 32, Blake lost a disappointing match to Spain's Nicolás Almagro 4–6, 6–3, 3–6. The loss dropped Blake's three set record to 3–4 on the year.

Blake also played in the doubles draw, teaming with Andy Roddick to reach the Round of 16 where the American duo fell to top-seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić 4–6, 6–3, 7–10.

At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Blake defeated Serbian wildcard Filip Krajinović in three sets 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 to advance to the Round of 64. In the second round, he lost to 27th seed Thomaz Bellucci 6–3, 1–6, 2–6.

In July 2010, Blake played for the Boston Lobsters of the World TeamTennis pro league.

On April 14, Blake announced that he would be taking the clay court season off with a serious knee injury. As a result of this injury Blake missed the French Open for the first time since 2004.^[16]

James Blake practicing at US Open 2010

Blake returned to action at Wimbledon where he lost to Dutchman Robin Haase 2–6, 4–6, 4–6. The result was surprising considering that Haase lost badly to Blake earlier in the season at Delray Beach. During this match, Blake harshly accused ESPN commentator and former WTA player Pam Shriver of disrupting play due to her overly loud commentary from the box situated above the court behind him. This led to a verbal exchange between the two during the match. After the match, an emotional Blake declared that if his knee problems did not subside he may consider retirement.^[17] Blake, who refuses to take any anti-inflammatories for his knee, called his performance "embarrassing" and said "I can't beat these guys at 80 percent."

Despite these comments, Blake chose to continue his rehab to prepare for the U.S. hardcourt season. He opened an official Facebook page where he can communicate better with fans in an announcement made on his website. In the first round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships, an inaugural event previously played in Indianapolis, Blake lost a tough three-set match to Taylor Dent 3–6, 6–3, 4–6. Despite winning 49% of points, Blake could not break Dent in crucial moments. The big-serving Dent saved 12/14 break points in the match. The loss was the seventh that Blake endured in the deciding set in 2010. However, Blake fared much better in the doubles draw, pairing with American up-and-comer John Isner. The duo completed a strong comeback from 6–3, 4–2 down to top fellow Americans Robby Ginepri and Ryan Sweeting 3–6, 6–4, 10–3. In the quarterfinals, Blake and Isner easily dispatched Germans Michael Kohlmann and Rainer Schüttler 6–4, 6–1 before falling in two tiebreaks to Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky in the semis.

At the Los Angeles Open, Blake's singles fate took a turn for the better. Prior to the tournament, Blake told the LA Times that retirement was "no longer a thought" and that he was "not done yet".^[18] In the opening round, Blake easily dispatched Leonardo Mayer in a rematch from the 2009 French Open first round 6–1, 6–4 before topping Benjamin Becker 7–5, 7–6. In the quarterfinals, Blake got off to a hot start, winning the first set over Spaniard Feliciano López 6–3. However, after dropping the second set in a close tiebreaker 6–7, Blake fell in the third 4–6. Blake also entered the doubles draw of this tournament with American Sam Querrey but the duo fell quickly in the first round 3–6, 3–6 to Lopez and Janko Tipsarević.

Following Los Angeles, Blake appeared at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C.. He came into the tournament as a former finalist and champion at this event. His first opponent was the United States' Ryan Sweeting. Despite winning the first set, poor serving hurt Blake in a 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 setback. After the match, Sweeting called the win "the best of (his) career".

The next tournament James Blake faced, was in New Haven, his hometown tournament – the tournament where he claimed an ATP World Tour title when the tournament ran for the first time in 2005, defeating Feliciano López and followed this up by winning the title for a second time in 2007, where he defeated countryman Mardy Fish in the final. Despite an unfortunate draw and a few uninspiring losses in the last few weeks, Blake made and impressive display and ousted World No.76 Pere Riba 6–0, 6–1 in the first round, converting five of eleven break point opportunities. Blake won the lightning quick match in a minuscule 35 minutes, making it the shortest match win of 2010, beating the previous record held by Olivier Rochus who beat Abdulla Hajji in 38 minutes in Doha. This match was also one of the quickest matches in tennis history. In the second round match between Blake and seventh-seed up-and-comer Alexander Dolgopolov Jr., despite playing some great shots, Blake lost 6–4 6–2 in a rain-interrupted match.

At the 2010 US Open, Blake advanced to the third round losing to eventual finalist Novak Djokovic 6–1, 7–6, 6–3. This defeat dropped his singles record to 13–15.

2011[link]

Blake began his 2011 comeback tour ranked out of the Top 150 for the first time since 2005. He ended his partnership with coach Kelly Jones, choosing to travel alone.^[19] In a preseason interview, Blake stated he was healthy and carrying a positive attitude and would skip the Australian Open.^[19]

In his first match of the year, on February 8 at the SAP Open in San Jose, Blake defeated American qualifier Jesse Levine 7–5, 6–1 after Levine succumbed to an injury late in the second set. The American ran into red-hot Canadian youngster Milos Raonic in the second round and fell 6–2, 7–6 after battling back from a late break down in the second set to force a tiebreaker. Raonic would go on to win the tournament, his first as a pro.

Blake accepted a wild card into the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and promptly defeated Brazilian clay-court specialist Ricardo Mello 6–4, 6–3. In the round of 16, Blake was defeated by former doubles partner and close friend Robert Kendrick 7–6, 6–3.

He returned to action at Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, drawing No. 7 Benjamin Becker in the first round. Blake broke Becker late in the first set and battled back from a 3–1 hole in the second set to win 7–5, 6–4. In the second round he lost to Kei Nishikori of Japan 6–3, 6–4 in a rematch of the 2008 final.

In the 2011 US Open, Blake hit a forehand winner on match point against Jesse Huta Galung in the first round that was clocked at 125mph, thus making it the fastest forehand ever hit, eclipsing Gael Monfils's earlier record of 122mph against Marcos Baghdatis. Blake won the match 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4. In the second round he lost to David Ferrer of Spain 6–4, 6–3, 6–4.

2012[link]

Blake will be playing for the Philadelphia Freedoms of World Team Tennis this summer. It will be Blake's seventh overall WTT season, and first with the Freedoms. He will be the team's marquee player on July 10, 2012 when they face the Sacramento Capitals.

Equipment[link]

Blake worked with Prince to create a new racquet with Prince's O3 technology. However, he did not feel comfortable with this racquet. So, he switched back to the Dunlop Sport Aerogel 200, then the 4D 200, for the 2009 season.^[20] He changed to Wilson at the start of the 2010 season, using the new Six.One Tour strung with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power 16L strings at high tension (60+ pounds). He did not feel comfortable with this racquet either. Therefore, he switched back to Dunlop again. After the US Open of 2010, he began to test out rackets for Head. As August 26, 2011, he announced he will use Donnay rackets as his choice and using a customized Donnay X-Dual Pro. His clothing sponsor is Fila, with whom he started working in 2009 after using Nike for most his career. He has his own clothing line named Thomas Reynolds after his father.

Personal life[link]

Blake enjoys golf and basketball and is a fan of the New York Mets. He was featured on Bravo's second edition of Celebrity Poker Showdown but got 2nd after losing to Maura Tierney.^[21]

Blake is also a red pro on Full Tilt poker.^{[citation needed]} He appeared in People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive issue.^[22] He is good friends with singer/songwriter John Mayer, who also attended Fairfield High School.^[23] When Blake was invited by Virginia's Anthem Insurance to do a cancer charity game honoring his late father, he invited John Mayer, Andy Roddick and Gavin DeGraw to perform.^[24]

Major Finals[link]

Tennis Masters Cup[link]

Singles: 1 (0–1)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	2006	Shanghai	Hard (i)	Roger Federer	6–0, 6–3, 6–4

Masters Series[link]

Singles: 2 (0–2)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	2006	Indian Wells	Hard	Roger Federer	7–5, 6–3, 6–0
Runner-up	2007	Cincinnati	Hard	Roger Federer	6–1, 6–4

ATP Career Finals[link]

Singles: 24 (10–14)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	February 25, 2002	Memphis, United States	Hard (i)	Andy Roddick	4–6, 6–3, 5–7
Runner-up	2.	July 15, 2002	Newport, United States	Grass	Taylor Dent	1–6, 6–4, 4–6
Winner	1.	August 12, 2002	Washington, D.C., United States	Hard	Paradorn Srichaphan	1–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Runner-up	3.	August 25, 2003	Long Island, United States	Hard	Paradorn Srichaphan	2–6, 4–6
Runner-up	4.	August 8, 2005	Washington, D.C., United States	Hard	Andy Roddick	5–7, 3–6
Winner	2.	August 22, 2005	New Haven, United States	Hard	Feliciano López	3–6, 7–5, 6–1
Winner	3.	October 10, 2005	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Paradorn Srichaphan	6–1, 7–6(8–6)
Winner	4.	January 9, 2006	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Igor Andreev	6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–3)
Winner	5.	February 27, 2006	Las Vegas, United States	Hard	Lleyton Hewitt	7–5, 2–6, 6–3
Runner-up	5.	March 20, 2006	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	Roger Federer	5–7, 3–6, 0–6
Runner-up	6.	June 19, 2006	London, United Kingdom	Grass	Lleyton Hewitt	4–6, 4–6
Winner	6.	July 17, 2006	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	Andy Roddick	4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Winner	7.	September 25, 2006	Bangkok, Thailand	Hard (i)	Ivan Ljubičić	6–3, 6–1
Winner	8.	October 15, 2006	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Jarkko Nieminen	6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	7.	November 20, 2006	Shanghai, China	Hard (i)	Roger Federer	0–6, 3–6, 4–6
Winner	9.	January 13, 2007	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Carlos Moyà	6–3, 5–7, 6–1
Runner-up	8.	February 4, 2007	Delray Beach, United States	Hard	Xavier Malisse	7–5, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	9.	July 22, 2007	Los Angeles, United States	Hard	Radek Štěpánek	6–7(7–9), 7–5, 2–6
Runner-up	10.	August 19, 2007	Cincinnati, United States	Hard	Roger Federer	1–6, 4–6
Winner	10.	August 25, 2007	New Haven, United States	Hard	Mardy Fish	7–5, 6–4
Runner-up	11.	February 17, 2008	Delray Beach, United States	Hard	Kei Nishikori	6–3, 1–6, 4–6
Runner-up	12.	April 20, 2008	Houston, United States	Clay	Marcel Granollers	4–6, 6–1, 5–7
Runner-up	13.	May 10, 2009	Estoril, Portugal	Clay	Albert Montañés	7–5, 6–7(6–8), 0–6
Runner-up	14.	June 14, 2009	London, United Kingdom	Grass	Andy Murray	5–7, 4–6

Doubles: 8 (6–2)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score
Winner	1.	August 5, 2002	Cincinnati, United States	Hard	Todd Martin	Mahesh Bhupathi Max Mirnyi	7–5, 6–3
Winner	2.	March 10, 2003	Scottsdale, United States	Hard	Mark Merklein	Mark Philippoussis Lleyton Hewitt	6–4, 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–5)
Winner	3.	February 16, 2004	San Jose, United States	Hard (i)	Mardy Fish	Rick Leach Brian MacPhie	6–2, 7–5
Winner	4.	April 19, 2004	Houston, United States	Clay	Mardy Fish	Rick Leach Brian MacPhie	6–3, 6–4
Winner	5.	April 26, 2004	Munich, Germany	Clay	Mark Merklein	Julian Knowle Nenad Zimonjić	6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	February 27, 2006	Memphis, United States	Hard (i)	Mardy Fish	Chris Haggard Ivo Karlović	6–0, 5–7, [5–10]
Runner-up	2.	October 28, 2007	Basel, Switzerland	Carpet	Mark Knowles	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	1–6, 1–6
Winner	6.	April 15, 2012	Houston, United States	Clay	Sam Querrey	Treat Conrad Huey Dominic Inglot	7–6(16–14), 6–4

Singles Performance Timeline[link]

This table is current through 2012 Sony Ericsson Open.